In an unexpected but completely common sense partnership Westside Baby in White Center and Waste Management and are hosting two car seat reuse and recycling events in the Seattle area this October.

"King County approached us," said Katherine Salinas public sector manager for Waste Management," and said we have this great organization that is looking into car seat reuse and recycling. Waste Management doesn't actually recycle the car seats. We take them to a local recycler here in Seattle (...) The primary purpose of the car seat events is to get car seats that are still resusable."

Car seats literally have a "shelf life" of six years, after which they cannot (or should not) be used. If a car seat is five years old for example it is given a sticker, noting the date beyond which it should be recycled.

"We want people to bring in the car seats they have. They don't need to determine if they are resusable or not we can do that," said Salinas.

Drop off your used car seats at either location:
• Sunday, Oct. 10 between 10am and 4pm at the Sustainable Ballard Festival located at the CoolMom booth (at the Ballard branch of Viking Bank – 2237 NW 57th St. Seattle, 98107).

• Saturday, Oct. 16 between 10am and 2pm at WestSide Baby, 10027 - 14th Ave. SW, Seattle, 98146.

WestSide Baby is a nonprofit that collects previously owned items for children and babies and then distributes them free of charge to South King County families in need. This year, WestSide Baby has provided more than 250 local children with safe, used car seats. However, WestSide Baby has close to 750 additional requests for booster and car seats that are currently going unmet.

"The need is far greater than we can imagine," said Nancy Woodland, WestSide Baby Executive Director. "There are a lot of people who don't know that the seat their child is riding in is too small or their children are too big, or who are taking children out of car seats too early."

“This collection will allow us to provide many more seats to local children in need. In our region, car crashes are one of the leading causes of injury and death for infants and children. It is a very tangible way to immediately impact the safety of little ones right here in our neighborhoods while at the same time ensuring less waste ends up in our landfills,” said Woodland, "We are really hoping to get more car seats back into use for the families that need them."

All car seats will be accepted at collection events. To be reused, car seats must be less than 6 years old, never been in a car accident and never washed with harsh chemicals. Car seats that do not meet requirements for safe reuse will be recycled.

Westside Baby has a volunteer technician, Nancy Wainstein, who has taken a training course in car seat evaluation and restoration just for this purpose. She donates 12 hours of time per week with five of those hours spent in car seat evaluation, restoration, and cleaning.

"I worked with children and families for 30 years and once I retired I decided I wanted to do something with children and families. I hope I'm serving their mission."

“Waste Management is proud to support the efforts of WestSide Baby by making this event possible. Safety is a core value in our everyday operations and are pleased to help WestSide Baby increase the safety of children throughout South King County by providing used car seats to those in need”, said Salinas.

"This is the 'seed event'," said Woodland, "We're hoping that this will lay the foundation for a much greater partnership between Westside Baby, King County and Waste Management."

To learn more about Westside Baby or for collection event details, please visit www.westsidebaby.org.

About Waste Management
Waste Management of the Pacific Northwest is the leading provider of comprehensive recycling and environmental services in the region. We provide innovative sustainability solutions for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers, from curbside collection with natural gas trucks for clean air to waste reduction programs that turn food scraps into compost for healthy gardens. The company uses waste that cannot be recycled to generate renewable energy, powering 7,500 homes in the Pacific Northwest. For more information, go to www.ThinkGREEN.com or www.wmnorthwest.com.

About WestSide Baby:
WestSide Baby, in partnership with our community, provides essential items to local children in need by collecting and distributing diapers, clothing, toys and equipment. We partner with more than 100 established social service agencies to distribute over 4 million dollars worth of baby items to low-income families in south Seattle. Just since 2005, we served more than 34,000 children.

For more information, go to www.westsidebaby.org.

About CoolMom:
CoolMom is a nonprofit organization based in Seattle that unites Moms to take action on Climate Change through education, lifestyle change and advocacy. For more information, go to www.coolmom.org.